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A Shortcut of Supernaturalism

Jasper St. Jones Got the Prettiest Bones

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“Jasper St Jones Got the Prettiest Bones: A Shortcut of Supernaturalism”

Written by Tristan “TK Nyarlathotep” Jusola-Sanders

Produced by Caitlin Helms-Voss, Lucas Indorf, and the patrons of the Tomb of Nyarlathotep Patreon

Jasper St. Jones Got the Prettiest Bones: A Shortcut of Supernaturalism © 2017 Tomb of Nyarlathotep Games

Call of Cthulhu is a Trademark of Chaosium Inc. and is used with their permission via the OBS Community Content program. For more information please visit Chaosium’s website: www.chaosium.com The Miskatonic Repository Logo is used under license.

Art by Marco Monte (pg. 7), Simon Bray (pg. 8), and David Lewis Johnson (pg. 9).

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Intro………………………………………4What Is A Shortcut of

Supernaturalism?…………………………4“Jasper St. Jones Got the Prettiest Bones!”……………………………………5

Scenario Introduction………………5Background…………………………5Introducing the Investigators……….5Scenes and Events…………………..5Conclusion………………………….6Rewards…………………………….6

Appendix A - NPCs and Monsters………..7Appendix B - Tomes and Spells…………..9Appendix C - Handout…………………..10

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INTRODUCTION The time has come, the week (or even the day!) of gathering for a terrifying game of Call of Cthulhu. Your pencils are sharpened, your dice in good condition, and your arcane tomes in preparation. Even the players seem ready! There’s just one problem. You aren’t. You, the Keeper, have performed a grave sacrilege - you have failed to prepare to frighten, thrill, and chill your Investigators. What do you do? Most scenarios are so long, there aren’t enough hours in the day to read all thirty to sixty pages. So what do you do? Simple: You pick up a Shortcut of Supernaturalism! In less than ten pages, guaranteed, you’ll have everything you need to run a thrilling game of Call of Cthulhu - a scenario outline, stats for major NPCs, and a spooky plot you can fill in to give your players a good fright. With all the heavy lifting moved to improvisation, you’ll be frightening players and maddening investigators in no time!

WHAT IS A SHORTCUT OF SUPERNATURALISM? A Shortcut of Supernaturalism is a short adventure frame which the Keeper of Arcane Lore can use as its own four-hour, self-contained scenario, as the jumping off point for a larger campaign, or to fill time in an ongoing campaign between preparing huge points in the story. Even still, they can be used more than that - even for just inspiration! Shortcuts of Supernaturalism are named for a quote from H.P. Lovecraft’s 1920/1925 short story “The Temple”, to wit: “It is only the inferior thinker who hastens to explain the singular and the complex by the primitive shortcut of supernaturalism.” Being a Keeper of Arcane Lore, you are, of course, the furthest thing possible from an inferior thinker - but sometimes a shortcut is just what you need to get the wheels turning! That’s what the Shortcuts of Supernaturalism series is for - to facilitate quick-thinking and even quicker scenario-prepping.

It should, of course, go without saying that Investigators should read no further if they want to avoid scenario spoilers. Good luck!

—TK Nyarlathotep

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JASPER ST. JONES GOT THE PRETTIEST BONES

SCENARIO INTRODUCTION This scenario involves the innocent young heir of a fortune accidentally bringing victims to his cannibal ancestor. It takes place in the 1920s, but can be modified to a later era with minimal difficulty. Earlier eras will require more work. It is required the scenario take place in an area with a dam or reservoir.

BACKGROUND • 1818: 22-year-old Edwin Sans Johannes comes back

from an expedition to South America with tremendous wealth, including an eight-legged mechanical device he calls The Necronicum.

• 1861: Edwin Sans Johannes, now St. Jones, is buried in secret according to his will - in truth, he is placed in the warrens beneath Dunwich inside of the Necronicum, giving him immortality as long as his descendants bring him victims.

• 1898: Jasper St. Jones, grandson of Edwin, is tried and hanged for the murder of thirteen women. His desperate son scrambles to relocate the St. Joneses, with Edwin, to another town.

• 1923: Construction nears completion on the St. Jones Dam, a project looking to restore the good name of the St. Joneses.

• Today: Milton St. Jones is raised unaware of his ancestor’s terrible crimes and, as such, does not bring Edwin blood. Edwin lives in the steam tunnels of the old reservoir, and tempts Edwin’s 9-year-old son, Edward, into bringing him blood by claiming he wants “friends to play with”. Edward brings him drifters and other “lonely-looking people”.

INTRODUCING THE INVESTIGATORS The investigation kicks off with the discovery of Jesse Cudrow, dehydrated and half-alive emerging from the steam tunnels repeating “Jasper St. Jones got the prettiest bones!”. They can either see this happen, hear about the strange incident through the media, be present for the body’s arrival, etc.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE Jesse Cudrow, 38-year-old white male (deceased); bootlegger. • Criminal and roustabout. • Died under bizarre circumstances, dehydrated at

needlepoint.

• Used to run the liquor lines between the two nearest towns.

• Grew up in Dunwich, MA.

Gary Wills, 36-year-old black male; reservoir worker. • Discovered the body and dialed emergency services. • Innocent, horrified by the ordeal, and doesn’t want to

be involved. • Will help, but anxiously. • Knows how he's likely to be treated as a suspect and

black man.

Blake Cole, 24-year-old white male; reservoir worker. • Knew Jesse Cudrow, was a customer of his. • Drinks heavily. Has a reputation as a drunk. • Does not want his connection known. • Knows nothing and is innocent, will try to blame Gary

Willis.

Milton St. Jones, 31-year-old white male; dilettante. • Wealthy heir to the St. Jones fortune. • Family built the reservoir. • Infuriated by the mention of Jasper St. Jones. Wants

to maintain family name. • Will be of no help and might be actively threatening,

even if he hires the Investigators personally.

Edward St. Jones, 9-year-old white male; student. • Temporarily home from boarding school, son of

Milton St. Jones. • Claims to sometimes speak to “Old Grampa” when he

goes out to play. • Does speak to Edwin Sans Johannes through a sewer

grate near his house. • Good lead.

Edwin Sans Johannes, 132-year-old desiccated corpse; immortal machine-being. • Ancient and still living patriarch of the St. Jones

family. • Dutch immigrant, • Left a massive fortune to his son after striking it rich

as a renowned treasure hunter. • Discovered an incredible machine, the Necronicum. • Is kept alive through it as long as it drinks blood. • Jasper St. Jones was caught killing for him. • When the family moved to save face, they transported

him as well and built the reservoir to contain him in a place where he could kill to maintain his machine but never be caught.

• Now wanders the tunnels of the reservoir, unknown to Milton.

START The scenario can start with the discovery of the body, its autopsy, or a personal investigation. If the players do not pursue the investigation on their own, Milton St.

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Jones will be willing to pay them to help clear his family’s name of this silliness.

SCENES AND EVENTS The Crime Scene • Jesse Cudrow was found by Gary Wills several feet

from the security booth • Garry Wills immediately called the hospital from the

security booth and gave the dying man some water. • A successful Track roll can see the still-drying

remains of Cudrow’s footprints leading away from a maintenance door, which leads to the steam tunnels below the reservoir.

• The dehydrated man is not what he appears - successful Medicine check reveals the actual cause of death is severe blood loss. His dehydration seems to have been extremely quick, as if he were suddenly dropped into extreme humidity.

• There is a series of nine puncture marks on the back of his neck, as if he had blood drawn or something injected at eight points in a circle and once in the center. An Extreme Spot Hidden or Medicine check reveals the point in the center is actually another eight extremely small punctures, tightly grouped.

The Rhyme • Jasper St. Jones was one of the most notorious serial

killers in Dunwich, • A disturbing link in the otherwise prestigious St.

Jones family tree. • The rhyme was invented as a campfire folk song to

scare the young and weak-stomached. • Is fairly obscure outside of Dunwich. • Can lead to the St. Jones family, of which the

youngest, Edward, can be of use. • May be found written somewhere, or sung by a

Dunwich native, or remembered with a Hard History roll.

St. Jones Estate • Palatial and opulent. • Filled to the brim with portraits of the family,

including Edwin Sans Johannes. • Contains Edward and Milton. Milton’s wife, Glenda,

on holiday. • An Extreme Spot Hidden roll finds a secret room

behind the fireplace.

The Secret Room • Unknown to Milton and Edward. • Contains numerous ancient treasures, including a

sarcophagus and a bizarre statue (1/1d6 Sanity to touch).

• Contains The Diary of Edwin Sans Johannes (see pg. 9)

The Steam Tunnels • Contains Edwin Sans Johannes in the Necronicum. • A Hard Spot Hidden roll reveals ancient bones in

some corners. The bones are extremely brittle. • A Listen roll reveals unsourced clanking and other

mechanical sounds.

—A hidden room (Hard Spot Hidden) has complex equations and dizzying designs on the wall (0/1d6+2 to see).

CONCLUSION The scenario is relatively flexible with conclusions. A suggested end-point is the confrontation with Edwin Sans Johannes/St. Jones in the steam tunnels. Other end points could potentially be seeing Edward bring Edwin a victim, or an Investigator being victimized themselves. The choice is yours as Keeper.

REWARDS • +1d6 if the investigators clear the name of someone

wrongfully accused of the murder. • +1d8 if the investigators destroy the Necronicum

and/or kill Edwin Sans Johannes. • -1d6 if the investigators lose Milton St. Jones to the

Necronicum. • -1d8 if the investigators lose Edward St. Jones to

either the Necronicum or his ancestor’s manipulation. • -1d10 if an investigator places themselves in the

Necronicum or choose to intentionally continue sacrificing to the Necronicum.

Three Mythos Explanations For the Necronicum Like many of the horrors and entities in the Shortcuts of Supernaturalism series, the Necronicum’s true nature is not explained. The reason for this is simply that the author thinks horror is at its best when it is inexplicable. If you would prefer have a definition for the Necronicum, the following suggestions can act as a springboard for ideas at your table.

1. The Necronicum is a prototype Deep One undersea vessel for bringing mortals below the waves and showing them their fantastic cities. Its flaw is the requirement that it drain blood.

2. The Necronicum is a void-proof vessel rewarded to the most loyal servitors of the Mi-Go, granting them immortality while keeping their bodies.

3. The Necronicum is an ancient piece of Elder Thing technology as an experiment in blood transfusion.

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APPENDIX A - NPCS AND MONSTERS Gary Wills, decent security guard STR 70 CON 65 SIZ 55 DEX 35 INT 50 APP 55 POW 50 EDU 44 SAN 50 HP 12 DB +1d4 Build +1 Move 8 MP 10

Combat Brawl 55% (27/11), damage 1d3+1d4 Shotgun 55% (27/11), damage 4d6/2d6/1d6 Dodge 37% (18/7)

Armor: 1-point security vest Skills: Credit Rating 9%, Drive Auto 49%, Elec Repair 65%, Fast Talk 35%, First Aid 50%, English 44%, Library Use 40%, Listen 30%, Mech. Repair 65%, Natural World 30%

Blake Cole, miscreant security guard STR 70 CON 80 SIZ 65 DEX 45 INT 45 APP 40 POW 60 EDU 45 SAN 60 HP 14 DB +1d4 Build +1 Move 8 MP 12

Combat Brawl 55% (27/11), damage 1d3+1d4 Shotgun 55% (27/11), damage 4d6/2d6/1d6 Dodge 27% (13/5)

Armor: 1-point security vest Skills: Credit Rating 15%, Drive Auto 25%, Elec Repair 15%, First Aid 40%, Intimidate 30%, Mech Repair 50%, Op. Hv. Machine 51%, Throw 50%

Milton St. Jones, dilettante STR 70 CON 45 SIZ 50 DEX 70 INT 70 APP 75 POW 55 EDU 90 SAN 55 HP 9 DB — Build 0 Move 9 MP 11

Combat Brawl 25% (12/5), damage 1d3 Hunting rifle 55% (27/11), damage 2d6+4 Dodge 45% (22/9)

Armor: none Skills: Accounting 35%, Anthropology 31%, Archaeology 31%, Charm 55%, Dutch 51%, English 90%, History 55%, Library Use 70%, Persuade 60%, Poetry 45%, Psychology 30%, Ride 65%

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Edwin Sans Johannes, Living Corpse* STR 00 CON 01 SIZ 15 DEX 65 INT 99 APP 00 POW 100 EDU 80 SAN 25 HP 4 DB -2 Build -2 Move 0 MP 25

Combat Brawl 65% (32/13), damage 1d3-2 Dodge 45% (22/9)

Armor: none Skills: Archaeology 100%, Anthropology 75%, Fast Talk 75%

Sanity Loss: 0/1d6 to see Edwin Sans Johannes.

*Edwin Sans Johannes is wired into the Necronicum, a gigantic spider-like machine of gold that contains a human corpse behind glass. If he is removed from the Necronicum, he loses 1 HP per round. He dies at 0 HP.

The Necronicum* STR 150 SIZ 165 DEX 65 HP 32 DB +3d6 Build 4 Move 11

Combat Brawl 65% (32/13), damage 3d6 Hold (maneuver) 65% (32/13), special (see above) Drain (maneuver) 65% (32/13) or automatic success if held, damage 3d10 per round (see above) Dodge 45% (22/9)

Attacks Per Round: 1 Armor: 4-point unearthly metal armor Fighting attacks: The Necronicum has several tentacles which it can use to smash and swat at victims. Hold: The Necronicum can hold victims with its metal tendrils, requiring an opposed STR check to break free. Drain: The Necronicum has a special draining apparatus that powers the machine and confers its pilot life. Removing the draining apparatus requires an opposed DEX check to break free, unless held (see above). Draining removes 3d10 STR (blood) per round.

Sanity Loss: 1/1d8+San loss value of current operator.

Notes: The Necronicum takes irreducible HP loss if an investigator manages to throw lead dust into it, which interferes with its operation. It loses roughly 1d10 HP per handful thrown, shutting down inoperably when it hits 0 HP.

*Stats for the Necronicum reflect their current passenger, Edwin Sans Johannes. If someone else is put into the Necronicum, their Brawl, Dodge, Combat Maneuvers, and DEX percentages should be recorded instead.

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APPENDIX B - TOMES AND SPELLS Tome: The Diary of Edwin Sans Johannes Dutch, 19th century This book exists as a single leather-bound journal from the 19th century. It contains the history of Edwin Sans Johannes’ travels, as well as the operation of the Necronicum, which he learned in a dangerous early experiment with a member of his expedition force he mutilated to fit into the Necronicum. One page has “KEEP OUT OF CONTACT WITH LEAD” written on it, underlined twice.

Sanity Loss: 1d4 Cthulhu Mythos: +2/+4 percentiles Mythos Rating: 18 Study: 2 weeks Suggested Spells: Trance (see Grand Grimoire), Rite of the Necronicum

Spell: Rite of the Necronicum Cost: All STR (minimum 50 STR required), 1d10 Sanity points Casting Time: 2+ hours

The Rite of the Necronicum allows one person to be fit into the Necronicum and kept alive indefinitely as long as they are provided with human blood via the machine’s Drain maneuver. The ritual requires a copper or copper alloy blade, which is used to sever the right arm and both legs, which allows anyone larger than SIZ 15 to fit into the Necronicum, as well as to create gruesome circles, or “ports”, along the sides and spine, which allow the user to interface with the Necronicum. The ritual deals at least 2d6 HP damage if successful, and reduces the victim to SIZ 15. However, it allows its user to be interred into the Necronicum.

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APPENDIX C - HANDOUT

The Song, “Jasper St. Jones’ Got The Prettiest Bones” Some say Jasper St. Jones was a ladies man He’d take ‘em by heart, he’d take ‘em by hand But the one surest thing that everyone knows Is Jasper St. Jones’ got the prettiest bones

He took thirteen beauties, all lovelies from town And he butchered ‘em all, yes he cut ‘em all down Such pretty young things all as pure as the snows Made sure Jasper St. Jones got prettiest bones

They hanged him by the neck, hung him from dusk ’til dawn And when they came to drop him, his body was gone They say that he’d been carried off by the crows Who thought Jasper St. Jones’ got the prettiest bones.

So if you’re in the business of evil and sin Just remember the wages of vicious killin’ Cuz it don’t matter your body what waits down below When it’s Jasper St. Jones got the prettiest bones